Dekh Kabira Roya – Simple story, lot of laughs and wonderful music – a classic!

Dekh Kabira Roya (1957), produced and directed by Amiya Chakrabarty is an out and out comedy, with no melodrama or subplots. It starts with the following two lines being displayed on the screen, that gives you an idea of what to expect –

TRUTH IS STRANGER THAN FICTION.
COMEDY IS EXAGGERATION OF TRUTH.

It’s a story of three young men, Mohan (a singer), Ranjeet(a painter) and Pradeep (writer and editor of a weekly called “Triveni”). And it’s a story of 3 beautiful, young, spirited women, Kalpana, Geeta and Rekha who are interested in learning or getting guidance on writing, singing and painting respectively. Kalpana, Rekha and Geeta are good friends…

One day Mohan (Anoop Kumar), Ranjeet (Daljeet), and Pradeep (Jawahar Kaul), meet in Janata coffee house. All three of them are struggling artists. They introduce themselves to each other.

Pradeep tells Ranjeet that he can print his paintings in Triveni and though Ranjeet is reluctant, Pradeep insists that they go over to Ranjeet’s place to see his paintings. When they go over to Ranjeet’s place, Pradeep finds out why Ranjeet was so reluctant to bring him over – he has not paid the rent for quite a few months and so he is scared to go in the house from the front door.  Pradeep sees Rekha (Anita Guha), who is the land lord’s daughter and both like each other. Rekha thinks Pradeep is the tenant and the painter. She herself is a painter of sorts and wishes to learn from Pradeep (who she thinks is Ranjeet – the painter). She asks her father (Shivraj) that he waive off Ranjeet’s rent. By end of this first encounter, Pradeep and Rekha are in love. And this is expressed wonderfully in the song that Rekha sings – Lagan, tose laagi balama…

Next day, Mohan, who is extremely troubled because his neighbours would not let him do riyaaaz at home, tells his problem to Ranjeet. Ranjeet suggests that they go and meet Pradeep, who had managed to solve Ranjeet’s problem so easily the previous day. When the two of them go to Triveni’s office, Pradeep is not there. Ranjeet ask’s Mohan to wait in Pradeep’s office and he goes to the press to see if Pradeep is there. Kalpana (Shubha Khote), who writes (poetry as well as stories), comes to Triveni’s office to meet the editor. Finding Mohan in Pradeep’s office, she assumes that Mohan is Pradeep, the editor.  The two are sitting and having a conversation, very obviously taken in by each other, when Ranjeet returns and drags Mohan out since Pradeeep is not in the press either.

They go to Mohan’s place, where Ranjeet tells Mohan to sing, saying that he will handle the neighbours if they create a problem.Geeta and her mother are new tenants in the same building, one floor up and they like his singing, but they don’t know him. When the neighbours start protesting, Geeta stands up for the singing and after making sure that the complaining neighbours have gone away, she knocks on Mohan’s door. Ranjeet opens the door and thinking that she is one of the complaining neighbours, gives her a piece of his mind. Then she clarifies that she actually likes “his” singing and asks him to sing more. They have liked each other… Ranjeet, having solved Mohan’s problem, asks him to sing. Mohan sings (in Talat’s voice) a beautiful song – “Kaun aaya mere manake dware…”

So now, we have Kalpana, who writes, in love with Mohan the singer, thinking he is the editor of “Triveni”; Rekha, who paints and wishes to learn from a “good painter” in love with Pradeep, who is a writer & editor, thinking he is the painter, the tenant; and Geeta, who loves music and hopes to learn from the good singer who lives in the same building, in love with Ranjeet, thinking he is the singer…

Next day, Pradeep says there is a lot of disturbance in the office so he can’t write there. Ranjeet offers use of his place, and Pradeep jumps at the offer. Mohan offers his place to Ranjeet to go and paint and Ranjeet of course takes up the offer. And Pradeep offers his office to Mohan for his music practice and Mohan likes the idea – he says on one side there will be press machines running and on the other side he would be singing – no one need hear him at all.

Mohan asks Kalpana how she would feel if he was not a writer but a singer; Ranjeet tells Geeta that he is going to start painting; and Pradeep tells Rekha that writing is more valuable. But the girls, each in love with the art that they think the person they love is pursuing, react very negatively. So, to keep Kalpana happy, Mohan decides to learn to write (from Pradeep); to keep Rekha happy, Pradeep decides to learn to paint (from Ranjeet); and to keep Geeta happy, Ranjeet decides to learn to sing (from Mohan). 

Their efforts to learn each other’s skills do not bring any positive results but do generate a lot of laughs for the audiences!!

Kalpana, Geeta and Rekha accept that they are in love and go to Rekha’s father to ask for his help to arrange their weddings.  All three of them are to get married at the same time and its only when Kalpana is asked to sit next to Pradeep, Rekha is asked to site next to Ranjeet and Geeta is asked to sit next to Mohan for the Pandit to begin the ceremony that they find out the truth!!

The movie is funny from the start to the end.  Anoop Kumar is really the only known name amongst the heroes. Jawahar Kaul as Pradeep gives a good performance and also looks good. I wonder why he didn’t make more movies… Sunder as the waiter at Janata coffee house also has a big role and he is very good too.

Anita Guha, Ameeta and Shuha Khote are all wonderful in their roles. Shubha Khote looks very smart and carries herself very well. Ameeta as Geeta who keeps fainting all the time is very, very cute. And Anita Guha too is very likable.

There are many scenes in the movie which are funny even by themselves, and are done really well – like when Rekha takes Ranjeet to be the thief when she sees him in his place instead of Pradeep; like how Geeta faints at the smallest things’ Ranjeet singing with Geeta’s mother;  Like Pradeep explaining to Rekha the portrait he draws of her; like Mohan saying “Bhayankar Paristhiti”; like Geeta running into Rekha and then Rekha running into Kalpana at Janata coffee house; like Kalpana telling Rekha how the waiter fainted on seeing her face. And Rekha’s father going to Geeta’s mother and saying “I am Geeta’s father”…  Each incident by itself is very funny and fits really well into the overall story perfectly.

Lyrics by Rajendra Krishna are really wonderful and Madan Mohan’s music is divine! Lata’s voice during the 50s was absolutely something else!! No one ever sang like that later; not even Lata herself.  There are many songs in the movie and each song is a treat.

Hum Panchhi masataane – Kalpana and Rekha on the marine drive is a simple yet lively and youthful song. Mumbai in this period must have been so wonderful!! The marine drive looks deserted and beautiful!
Mohan singing “Kaun Aaya mere man ked ware”, a very soft and cheerful song in Talat’s voice with superb lyrics is one of my alltime favourite songs. So is “Humse aaya na gaya, tumse bulaaya na gaya” – again Talat’s soft voice.

And the three song medley towards the end – Geeta singing “Meri Veena tum bin roye”, Rekha singing “Ashkonse teri humne tasveer banayi hai” and Kalpana singing “Too pyaar kare ya thukaraaye” – is melodious and one can really feel the yearning – Only Asha and Lata could ever make you feel like that!!

So watch this movie – for the simple and yet very funny story that is presented really well; for the songs – lyrics as well as the music. Oh also, watch it for Shubha Khote – she is so smart ; she is definitely the one who can take things in her hand and take them to conclusion for herself as well as for Rekha and Geeta. And also watch it for Ameeta – I never liked her in any other movie as much as I liked her in this one…